Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

[the lemur]

Last time I changed planes at Schipol it felt like a 20-minute walk just to get from one gate to another. I'm sure there's spots there that aren't a 3-minute walk to the train.

Yes, some of the gates are far apart at Schiphol ... but once you clear customs & immigration and are in the arrivals hall, the connection to the train station itself is less than 200 m. In fact if you wait until you are within the train station proper to buy tickets, it's actually less convenient & more time-consuming than doing so within the terminal.

 

[vic]

I wish there was a simplified view of what gets charged to your Presto card, without the autoloads, fare inspections, tap-offs, etc... Here are 8 transactions for two simple trips (Bloor to YYZ and YYZ to Bloor).

Yes, this is how I submitted my expense report.

 

[SFO-YYZ]

View attachment 68578
I wish there was a simplified view of what gets charged to your Presto card, without the autoloads, fare inspections, tap-offs, etc... Here are 8 transactions for two simple trips (Bloor to YYZ and YYZ to Bloor).

Yes, this is how I submitted my expense report.

Lol

Even though I have a Presto card, I just buy the full fare ticket at the station whenever I take UPE for business travel. Far simpler to just take a snapshot of your paper receipt then convert to PDF than going to Presto site and pinpointing the exact transactions you want your corporate expense team to review.

 

[nfitz]

I think I'd recommend termination of someone who chose to use the higher pricing, in order to save themselves a couple of seconds print-screening something, and circling the number you want to claim.

 

[chriskayTO]

I regularly claim business expenses for TTC fares as well as UP Express - I always just print out the Presto and either highlight or provide comments. I wish it were better, but I'm not going to put much effort into pretti-fying it.

 

[SFO-YYZ]

I think I'd recommend termination of someone who chose to use the higher pricing, in order to save themselves a couple of seconds print-screening something, and circling the number you want to claim.

Sorry but my response would be: none of your business. Why would you automatically assume that every company nickel and dimes their employees for lowest-priced travel? For example my company has a lump sum amount for daily intra-city travel like public transit and taxi usage ($150), and as long as you don't surpass that amount there's no fuss. And frankly I wouldn't want to work at a place where employees report on one another over a mere $8 dollar saving (and soon to be $3). Every company culture is different.

 

[rbt]

I regularly claim business expenses for TTC fares as well as UP Express - I always just print out the Presto and either highlight or provide comments. I wish it were better, but I'm not going to put much effort into pretti-fying it.

I managed to get a round trip with TTC, UPX, and OCTranspo on it. Numerous fare adjustments, top-ups, etc. too. To say it was a bit of a mess is an understatement.

They really need a "trips" only display with aggregated fares (adjustments, including transfers combined).

 

[SFO-YYZ]

Certainly the expense reports I review, with the Presto fare print-out, look a lot more believable than the wad of TTC transfers, with notes scribbled on them ...

If you worked for me, you'd be out the door on your ass with that kind of attitude. We're very casual with such stuff ... but our clients aren't necessarily going to be when they ask for back-up on invoices. You have no idea what a frigging beer on a otherwise normal restaurant bill will do to some clients - particularly some foreign ones in a backwards country where they seem to have strange religious beliefs - but enough about Utah ...

Not sure why you need to make this personal and use derogatory remarks. And fortunately, I don't work for you or for your clients. And finally, I know my managers have better things to do with their day than scrutinizing their employees' lunch receipts and presto statements. I'm sorry you have to do that.

 

[SFO-YYZ]

Not personal at all.

Hmm totally not personal saying someone should be terminated. Anyway, good night bud, early morning flight tmr.

I think I'd recommend termination of someone who chose to use the higher pricing

If you worked for me, you'd be out the door on your ass with that kind of attitude.

 

[Napoleon]

Why would you automatically assume that every company nickel and dimes their employees for lowest-priced travel?

I remember the first time our department business person asked for a receipt for my TTC fare to get to the airport. A transfer was not a receipt according to her. I told her if she didn't want to reimburse me $3, she was welcome to reimburse a $60 taxi fare. Seemed to end the discussion.

 

[44 North]

I love it! I too had been wondering about a red-based scheme for GO's local train services while still keeping the GO brand. With fare integration the operating agency would become less relevant. Similarly I'd have no issue with Metrolinx operating/contracting the Crosstown line, as long as it too has red-based scheme. It's sort of like how the red of London buses unifies the system despite the myriad of private operators. Meanwhile GO Transit's green livery would represent regional services.

A couple of thoughts: Would painting the rooftop units black instead of red reduce the visual mass, making the trains look more sleek? Similarly would it look better to slope the top white and red stripes down the front of the train, following the shape of those panels?

And do you also have one in the GO livery? I'd love to see that. In that case I wonder if it would be best with a black stripe along the windows rather than the ordinary white one, it might look strange to have those big square tinted windows in a white stripe.

Thanks. Yeah, it'd be interesting to see if the Prov/Metrolinx will end up either incorporating UPX into a GO service, or rebranding GO's future local services into something identifiable with local transit (or at least different from GO proper). I do wonder if colour schemes have an effect on the brand or ridership. If UPX wasn't such an odd colour and perhaps was something bolder (e.g black or red), could it have been more popular?

I found on Wiki someone had posted Metrolinx's colour codes. Not sure how accurate they are. But here's a couple of schemes I concocted using your input (while also testing how these trains would look with cateneries and a GO-U/GO Urban logo).

 

[narduch]

Sorry but my response would be: none of your business. Why would you automatically assume that every company nickel and dimes their employees for lowest-priced travel? For example my company has a lump sum amount for daily intra-city travel like public transit and taxi usage ($150), and as long as you don't surpass that amount there's no fuss. And frankly I wouldn't want to work at a place where employees report on one another over a mere $8 dollar saving (and soon to be $3). Every company culture is different.

Just to add to this, if a company is run well, it has policies that are well communicated to its employees. You can't reprimand an employee for taking the non-Presto fare if you have never warned them ahead of time. (should reimburse the cost of the Presto card as well).

How long does Presto take to produce those reports? At my work expenses need to be in by the Friday or Monday of the travel.

I've had coworkers use the non-Presto fare so they have the receipt right away.

 

[nfitz]

How long does Presto take to produce those reports? At my work expenses need to be in by the Friday or Monday of the travel.

24 hours maximum, normally. Though normally much faster. I've tapped on TTC to get to work, and by the time I've got to the office it's already shown up.

Edit. As an example, here's my transactions today. The tap 40 minutes ago on a 506 car 4125 is already showing up, but the tap transferring to a 504 about 20 minutes ago at Broadview isn't there yet. Presumably it depends when the last sync from that streetcar was (4125 is still heading west ... at Bathurst as I sit here).

I've had coworkers use the non-Presto fare so they have the receipt right away.

For GO Transit, that's a bit painful, if you have to line up at Union to buy a ticket. I expensed some Viva trips the other day, and there's no option to get any paper.

 

[christiesplits]

View attachment 68608

So much better than the current UPX livery!

 

[Grimace]

UPX could use some improvements on notification systems. Two things that I suppose are minor but should be addressed.

One, at Union they put up the "Please Board Now" sign 3 minutes before the train actually leaves, and there is effectively no notification that doors are closing. I was just walking towards the train (the clock showed me I should still have a minute) and the doors just closed in my face.

Two, getting on at Bloor today as the train arrived going downtown the sign said the next train was 28 minutes away, but the sign also said "No Service Delays". Unless they just randomly skip trains during rush hour these 2 things can't both be right.